Mark Cavendish: Born to race

The most successful sprinter in Tour de France history is planning to shift up a gear. At 31, Mark Cavendish has 28 stage wins to his name and is the only man to win the race down the Champs-Élysées for four consecutive years. Now, with a new team behind him, he wants to go faster than ever to claim new titles. He slowed down (briefly) to share the secrets behind his pace and winning mentality. Try to keep up.

Sprinting is about going into the red, then being able to sprint another 300m

Men's Health: As a road sprinter, is your emphasis on endurance or explosive power?

Mark Cavendish: In sprinting you see all different body types, but typically it’s hard muscle and leanness. They’re slender but solid. Compared to most road sprinters I’m a different build, to be honest. I’m built for track and velodrome sprinting like Chris Hoy. I’m naturally gifted at sprinting, so it’s the endurance part I have to work on. And that takes a lot of work that my body can’t do naturally.

MC: Intervals make sessions go quicker. They break up a ride, and they’re good as they simulate racing. But I’m someone who races a lot so I typically get the same workout that you’d get from intervals from my races. Racing has that same constant up-down, up-down.

MH: What about the gym?

MC: I don’t do gym work. Not at all. I do bit of strength work with core stability, but not weights, otherwise I’d bulk up.

MC: That’s the bit nobody sees. Between going across the line and the podium you’re just sat in a tent feeling totally exhausted. I can’t even move. I can’t even lift a can of Coke to get some sugar into my system. Sprinting is about going into the red, then being able to sprint 300m. For the last 5K you’re probably going at a higher wattage than a normal person would be able to sprint at. And then you’ve got the sprint itself...

MH: Give us a taste of the preparation that goes into it. How do you train to work at that kind of intensity?

MC: In Belgium [for pro-cycling team Omega Pharma Quick-Step] you just go out and ride hard. That’s how I used to train when I was younger. I’d race to the top of a hill with a little sprint at the end. It really makes it enjoyable. It’s like when you’re a 15-year-old kid racing between signs – it’s stripped back, kind of pure. That’s how I like to train.

MH: What advice do you have for guys who want to increase their speed and endurance?

MC: With cycling, it’s all about time. The more time you put into training the better results you’ll get. And people underestimate recovery. You don’t just train your muscles through the work you do – your muscles get better after a bit of a rest. If you put those hours in, and then start running around like a headless chicken at night, it’s going to have a detrimental effect.

MH: Is that drive you have something you were born with or do you train it, just like your legs?

MC: Not really. I’ve had drive since I was a kid. I wanted to win, whether it was the school maths competition or the football team. I didn’t just want to be the best that I could be, I wanted to be the best out of everyone.

MH: Do you suffer the same motivation dips as the rest of us, then?

MC: It’s easy to climb off a bike sometimes, you know? The best thing I’ve learnt are three words: “It will end”. It can seem like forever before you come to the finish, but you know it won’t be. And picture the finish line, too. I do that.

MH: Do you enjoy the headspace you get on a bike? Or are you always tuned into your pace or tactics?

MC: When you’re riding generically then yeah, it’s the best place to go out and be alone with your thoughts. I never train with an iPod. The majority of the time it’s just me, my thoughts, my life. But when I’m doing specific training, I find it helps to focus my mind. Ask: “What are you doing? Why are you doing it?” That can help if it’s a long flat ride because that’s more boring than riding mountains. Hills naturally keep it interesting.

MH: How do you deal with the mental pressure before the Tour de France?

MC: It gets more intense the closer you get. From eight weeks out every single minute becomes about the Tour. But it’s quite good because we’re racing the whole time anyway, so it’s this constant motivation. It’s not the same as building up for something like the Olympics. It’s good to have something before that you can put all that energy into.

MH: How strict are you about nutrition?

MC: In the season I’m strict but in the winter I’m not so disciplined. Any athlete that says they stick absolutely to a gram-for-gram diet is either lying or a little bit sick. You’re a human being. You know what works for your body. My job is a professional cyclist and I’m not doing my job properly if I turn up overweight. But I fluctuate a lot. I’m 6kg more in the winter than I am in the Tour de France.

MH: One Last thing: has fatherhood had an impact on the way you compete?

MC: All the guys who are dads said, “You won’t take as many risks. You won’t want to be away from home.” But it kind of did the opposite. My job is cycling, and the way I earn a living is by winning. That’s how I will make a future for my daughter. It brings you down to Earth. It’s not that what you did before having kids didn’t have consequences, but now there’s someone that depends on you. It’s not even ‘love’ you have for your kid. It’s more – it’s something that there isn’t even a word for.

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